The present invention concerns a solid composite sheet with visible elongated filler and a method of manufacturing the same.
Various materials including wood, ceramic tiles, and Formica® have been used to make countertops. In recent years, solid surface materials have become highly desirable because of their non-porous and homogeneous nature. To meet the demanding requirements of consumers with varying tastes, different designs and textures have been developed including different fillers used in the process of making solid surface materials. For example, fabricators have used both aluminatrihydrate as a filler and also recycled solid surface particulate materials by grinding them up into granules and reincorporating them into a new solid surface material. Some fabricators have even utilized other materials such as chips and shavings of non-ferrous metals (see Hamami U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,661). However, the heterogeneous nature of this last construction can substantially weaken the solid surface material due to voids that may occur, and due to poor bonding of the polyester base material to non-ferrous filler material. As a result of the poor bonding and different material strengths and due to odd particulate shapes that may trap air, chips and surface defects may be in the top surface of a sheet of this material as it is sanded and buffed to a final high-quality finish. Also, the need for other designs has become increasingly important.
Consequently, a solid surface material having the aforementioned advantages, yet incorporating a different design pattern while maintaining a high internal strength and low tendency for producing surface defects, is desired.